Department for Transport

Railway Track: South West

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 June (HL136), and to the letter from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to Lord Patten dated 6 June placed in the Libraries of both Houses, whether they consider the single track railway between Salisbury and Yeovil to be "not unmodern".

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Department for Transport does not use the term “not unmodern” to classify or assess railway routes. The rail line between Gillingham (Dorset) and Pinhoe was re-signalled in 2012 and Stagecoach South Western Trains introduced additional services to the West of England in December 2015.

Euston Station

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost of redeveloping Euston as part of the HS2 programme.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Several assessments of the costs for redeveloping Euston were undertaken as part of the option appraisal work in developing the current proposals for the HS2 Euston Station.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Cabinet Secretary to conclude the HS2 cost review; and whether they will place a copy of his conclusions in the Library of the House.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As is normal for large projects, the Cabinet Office’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is conducting assurance of the HS2 programme as it proceeds into its delivery phase. It is standard practice for this to include a small cross Government team, and not unusual for the Cabinet Secretary to take an interest on projects of this scale. ‎ Headlines from the IPA's work on Phase 2 of High Speed 2 has now been reported in a NAO report on the HS2 project, published on 28 June. The work informs future cost estimates for HS2, as these are developed.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent publication HS2 and the railway network: the case for a review by Tony May and Jonathan Tyler, in particular the portions regarding costs and emissions arising from the development of Euston station.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 04 July 2016.The correct answer should have been:

As is normal for large projects, the Cabinet Office’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is conducting assurance of the HS2 programme as it proceeds into its delivery phase. It is standard practice for this to include a small cross Government team, and not unusual for the Cabinet Secretary to take an interest on projects of this scale. ‎ Headlines from the IPA's work on Phase 2 of High Speed 2 has now been reported in a NAO report on the HS2 project, published on 28 June. The work informs future cost estimates for HS2, as these are developed.HS2 has undertaken a general review of the report. This includes points on emissions where HS2 consider reducing the speed of the railway makes minimal impact to the construction carbon footprint, and on costs where comparison with other schemes is not being made on a like for like basis. For example the French track has no new stations, it does not go through a dense built-up urban area, it does not have the tunnels that we are building on HS2 to protect the environment,‎ and property prices are very low in comparison to the UK. The net result is that it is cheaper, but we will use joint ventures including continental firms with experience of building high speed rail and this will drive down our costs. The review did not specifically cover costs or emissions arising from the development of Euston Station. However, HS2 Ltd is committed to minimising the carbon footprint of HS2 as far as practicable and to delivering low carbon long distance journeys supported by low carbon energy. We will do this by, where practicable, avoiding carbon in the design, reducing carbon from construction and operations, using and/or generating low carbon energy and sequestering carbon.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As is normal for large projects, the Cabinet Office’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is conducting assurance of the HS2 programme as it proceeds into its delivery phase. It is standard practice for this to include a small cross Government team, and not unusual for the Cabinet Secretary to take an interest on projects of this scale. ‎ Headlines from the IPA's work on Phase 2 of High Speed 2 has now been reported in a NAO report on the HS2 project, published on 28 June. The work informs future cost estimates for HS2, as these are developed.HS2 has undertaken a general review of the report. This includes points on emissions where HS2 consider reducing the speed of the railway makes minimal impact to the construction carbon footprint, and on costs where comparison with other schemes is not being made on a like for like basis. For example the French track has no new stations, it does not go through a dense built-up urban area, it does not have the tunnels that we are building on HS2 to protect the environment,‎ and property prices are very low in comparison to the UK. The net result is that it is cheaper, but we will use joint ventures including continental firms with experience of building high speed rail and this will drive down our costs. The review did not specifically cover costs or emissions arising from the development of Euston Station. However, HS2 Ltd is committed to minimising the carbon footprint of HS2 as far as practicable and to delivering low carbon long distance journeys supported by low carbon energy. We will do this by, where practicable, avoiding carbon in the design, reducing carbon from construction and operations, using and/or generating low carbon energy and sequestering carbon.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Turkey: LGBT People

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about the banning of the Istanbul LGBT Pride march.

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the rainbow flag will be flown over the British Embassy in Turkey over the weekend commencing 24 June.

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Turkey about the reported use of tear gas and rubber bullets at a LGBT pride march in Istanbul.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not discussed these specific cases with the Government of Turkey. We regularly underline the importance of all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government, including the freedom of assembly and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex persons. We did not fly the rainbow flag over our Embassy in Ankara over the weekend commencing 24 June. British Missions overseas fly the Diplomatic, Union or Consular flag throughout the year, the flags of the constituent countries of the UK on their respective national days and in certain countries the European flag. Missions do not fly any other flags.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Recall of Unsafe Products Review

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 8 April (HL7348), when they will announce the membership of the steering group promised in their response, published on 18 February, to the independent review of UK consumer product recall by Lynn Faulds Wood, following the invitation to potential candidates of 6 April; and when they intend to report on the progress being made on implementing the report.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: A statement on the membership of the steering group has been issued and is attached. It can also be seen on the Gov.uk website. The first meeting of the steering group took place on 4 May and the group will report on its progress in due course.



Membership of Recall Review Steering Group
(Word Document, 13.96 KB)

Postgraduate Education: Soil

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many masters degree courses on soil science are currently offered by UK universities.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many postgraduates enrolled at UK universities and colleges are specialising in soil science.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: Information on enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions are collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The latest data for the 2014/15 academic year suggests there were about 40 full-person equivalent postgraduate students enrolled in soil science across three UK universities and colleges; these are the University of Aberdeen, University of Nottingham and the University of Reading. Of these, about 15 full-person equivalents were masters students studying at the University of Aberdeen.Soil science has a Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) code of F770. This is a detailed level code and some universities may occasionally allocate students to more general codes.

Domestic Appliances: Fires

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the safety standards for refrigeration units and tumble dryers in the light of the number of fires caused by such machines in individual homes.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The safety of tumble dryers and refrigeration units is regulated by the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994, which require these products to be safe and manufactured in accordance with good engineering practice. Standards, although voluntary, support the legislation by providing a benchmark as to what is considered to constitute safe in practice. The review of British Standards is a matter for the British Standards Institution (BSI) which undertakes regular reviews to ensure the standards address any safety concerns raised and follow best practice, and BIS officials participate in these activities.I am aware that the BSI has submitted proposals to the International Electro-technical Committee (IEC) to revise the refrigeration standard to address the recent fire concerns.The standard for tumble dryers is frequently revised, the last revision being in 2015, to ensure the relevant hazards are addressed.

Universities: Research

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to cover any shortfall in university research funding as a result of the UK leaving the EU if a satisfactory negotiated alternative cannot be achieved.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The future of UK access to European research and innovation funding will be a matter for the new Prime Minister and government to discuss. The government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in European and international research and innovation.

Nurses: Training

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Department of Health's consultation on changes in how healthcare education for nurses is funded, what are the next steps in the legislative process.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The Government expects to lay Regulations later this year implementing changes to student support arrangements for nurses starting their courses in 2017/18.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords: Prayer

Lord Storey: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether he has considered recommending to the relevant Committee of the House of Lords that at times of great national tragedies the House could hear inclusive prayers that reflect the national mood of grief and caring.

Lord Laming: The Noble Lord may wish to take informal soundings about this possibility and to consider writing to the Convenor of the Lords Spiritual and Procedure Committee with a proposal.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

BBC: Royal Charters

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the next BBC Charter will include a requirement for public service notices to be broadcast over (1) BBC radio, and (2) BBC television.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There are provisions in the current BBC Framework Agreement for the broadcast of an announcement in an emergency. There are no plans to change this. The new BBC Framework Agreement will be published in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Soil: Research

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how soils research sponsored by the Research Councils is translated into practical measures that can be readily adopted at farm level.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The findings from soils research are translated into practical measures that can be applied at farm level in a number of ways. This includes testing of measures as part of the research, reviews of the evidence base feeding into the development of farmer guidance or direct knowledge transfer as part of the research project. No formal assessment has been made of how soils research sponsored by the Research Councils is translated into practice. However, the part-Defra funded Soil Evidence Review, published in 2015 as part of the Natural Environment Research Council’s Soil Security Programme, emphasised the importance of engagement between researchers and farmers as being a priority to ensure understanding of agricultural issues (e.g. practical and economic challenges) and to aid the effective implementation of new knowledge and technologies.

Rights of Way

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 26 May (HL137), whether they will place a record of their consultations with the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities in the Library of the House; and if so, by what date.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Explanatory Memorandum to the regulations amending the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 will record the outcome of both the public consultation in 2012 and the Government’s further discussions with the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities. Extracts of the minutes from the relevant meetings of the Stakeholder Working Group will be placed in the Library of the House when the amendments to the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 are laid before the House for approval.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Exmoor National Park

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 25 May (HL39), what discussions they have had with the National Trust about badger culls; what was the outcome of those discussions; and whether they will publish the results of those discussions.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Defra officials have regular conversations with the National Trust about the Government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) in England. The National Trust has published its view on badgers and TB on its website.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to secure adequate supplies of anti-TB vaccine for use on badgers, in view of the present shortage.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The ongoing shortage of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, and the need to prioritise available stocks for humans, is impacting on supply for badger vaccination projects. Following advice from Public Health England (PHE) in December 2015, Defra took the decision to suspend attempts to source BCG vaccine for the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme and other private badger vaccination deployment projects in England until this situation is resolved.We are seeking regular updates from PHE about the vaccine shortage so that once the situation is resolved we can be in a position to re-start ordering of vaccine at the earliest opportunity.

HM Treasury

London Stock Exchange: Deutsche Borse

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which will be the lead regulator responsible after the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse.

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 6 June (HL348 and HL349), whether the Bank of England will have regulatory responsibility for the subsidiary clearing house of Deutsche Börse incorporated in Germany; and, if it will not, which regulator would have responsibility in the event of a dispute between the clearing house based in the UK and the one based in Germany.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: As announced by the companies in February 2016, the existing regulatory framework of all regulated entities within the combined group would remain unchanged. This is subject to the regulatory review which will take place once the regulators are notified by the companies. European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) requires coordination amongst regulators for supervisory and authorisation matters with regards to CCPs.